Woman found dead in Haifa apartment, fifth on same street

A 55-year-old woman who lived alone was found dead Monday in her apartment on HaChalutz Street in Haifa, several days after her passing. The call came in to emergency services at approximately 2:55 p.m.

ZAKA volunteers from the Northern District were called to the scene and worked to preserve the dignity of the deceased and collect remains for burial. According to the report, the woman lived alone with no close family members.

Yisrael Lazer, a ZAKA volunteer in the Northern District, said: "This is a 55-year-old woman who lived alone and was found several days after her death. Together with fellow ZAKA volunteers from the Northern District, we worked at the scene to collect remains and preserve the dignity of the deceased."

Anshel Friedman, commander of ZAKA's Northern District, raised a troubling statistic: "HaChalutz Street in Haifa is well known to ZAKA volunteers in the Northern District. This is the fifth case in recent years in which we have been called to this same street following a person found several days after their death."

"The number of cases on this same street illustrates the importance of awareness of one's surroundings, especially when it comes to people living alone," Friedman added. "We call on the public to take an interest in the welfare of their neighbors. A single knock on the door can save a life."

The Haifa case joins a series of similar incidents that have occurred in recent weeks across the country. Earlier this month, a 76-year-old man was found dead in his apartment in Holon a long time after his death, after he had not answered phone calls for several days. That same night, ZAKA volunteers handled three separate cases of people found long after their deaths.

In Jerusalem as well, a 60-year-old man was found in his apartment in the French Hill neighborhood about a week after his death, when the landlord discovered him after a sharp odor rose from the apartment. He was a man who lived alone with no family in the country.